Commerce Dept. awarded funding to combat sexual assault

SPOKANE – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa R. Waldref announced Thursday in a press release a Department of Justice grant award for the Washington State Department of Commerce. The grant allocates more than $1 million for programs that address sexual assault.

The grant was awarded Aug. 22 by the Office on Violence Against Women 2023 Sexual Assault Services Formula Program, which was created by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, said the release.

“It is critical that we work together – with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners – to address sexual assault in Washington state,” said Waldref in the release. “This latest grant award demonstrates the federal government’s continued commitment to combatting sexual violence, which disproportionately impacts women and vulnerable populations.”

According to the announcement, the SAS Formula Program directs grant dollars to states and territories to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that provide core services, direct intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault.

“I have witnessed the hurt and trauma that sexual assault victims and their families and loved ones endure,” said Waldref. “This award will fund critical services to assist sexual assault survivors, and support my office’s mission to protect victims of crime, amplify their voices, and to seek justice on behalf of all citizens in Eastern Washington.”

Additional information about grants and funding through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs is available at www.ojp.gov. Information regarding the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women is available at www.justice.gov/ovw.